The VoiceThe VoiceThe newspaper of Neighborhood House

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A community-based newspaper serving the Puget Sound area since 1981

VOLUME 24ISSUE 6

Articles translated into six languages

June2005

Neighborhood HouseJesse Epstein Building905 Spruce StreetSeattle, WA 98104

Non-profit org.U.S. postage PAIDSeattle, WAPermit #8887

QuotableIn this issue

Markets are here FRESH VEGGIES ON THE TABLE

One to grow on WAYS TO GET RID OF THOSE PESKY SLUGS East African group forms PLANS MADE TO HELP KIDS Translations SUMMER READING AT LIBRARY

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Marchers mourn the past and call for a better future for Vietnam

BY ALYSSA MARTIN Voice reporter

Thirty years after the fall of Saigon, Seattle is home to a Vietnamese immigrant population of around 40,000, one of the largest in the country. A crowd of 150 gathered at Union Station in late April to remember the end of the Vietnam War.

They marched to Seattle City Hall carrying bright yellow and orange posters with messages about their homeland, mourning the past, scorning the present and urging politi-cal change.

They also listened to speeches from refugees, veterans of the war and Vietnamese-Americans that touched on the challenges faced by Vietnamese people as they rebuild their war-torn country or adjust to life abroad.

The diverse group of participants did not all agree on how to remember the past. Another remembrance event took place along side the official ceremony, but it was clear that everyone’s concerns for the future united around the protection of human rights and religious freedom for those still living under a communist party.

War veterans, refugees and their American-born children joined together in chanting “religious freedom for Vietnam,” and waving their striped flags through downtown.

Eight-year-old Tiffany Bui seemed proud as she walked to the front of the marching crowd, carrying a bright orange poster commemorating the death of her grandfather in the war. Her young cousins giggled as they chased after her,

Steps toward final federal budget takenLegislation could mean more housing changes

PHOTO BY ALYSSA MARTIN

Thanh Tran came to the United States as a small boy, he said he looks forward to watching his son Truc grow up and take advantage of a good education.

City Council relaxes home buyer rulesSEATTLE CITY COUNCIL

The Seattle City Council eased some requirements last month to make it easier for many low-income families to become home owners under the city’s Homebuyer Assistance Program.

The legislation reduces down pay-ment constraints and allows sweat equity to count towards eligibility.

“Seattle’s working families deserve an opportunity to become homeown-ers,” said Councilmember Tom Ras-mussen, chair of the Council’s Housing Committee. “This is a clear message that we believe home ownership should be attainable for as many people as possible.”

The requirements had been estab-lished in the 2002 Housing Levy, in which taxpayers set aside money to en-sure affordable housing for everyone.

Until 2009, the Homebuyer As-sistance Program will set aside $7.8 million to help low-income home buy-ers secure low interest loans and make down payments on their first home.

With the eased requirements, pro-gram participants earning less than 60 percent of the median income will not have to come up with a down payment of $2,500 or 2 percent of the purchase price of their new home.

Instead, they can offer “sweat eq-uity,” or the contribution of physical labor toward the construction of their new home. This enables families par-ticipating Habitat for Humanity to ac-cess Homebuyer Assistance funds.

“Our city’s working families who are first-time home buyers need the kind of assistance (that) easing this requirement provides,” said City Council President

Jan Drago.Also, those who have long-term

disabilities and rely on Supplemental Security Income can use monetary gifts from family and friends for up to 75 percent of the minimum cash downpayment. For many, that mini-mum was difficult to accumulate and jeopardized their eligibility for SSI. This policy change is critical for helping more people with disabilities become independent home owners.

For those who have Individual De-velopment Accounts, the downpayment requirements were reduced to a f lat $2,500. IDA programs are administered by nonprofit organizations to give low-income families with a financial match for every dollar they save. Thesecombined funds are then available

See “Home owners” on page 2

Please see “March” on page 2

BY VIRGINIA FELTON

Seattle Housing Authority

Uncertainty about the federal budget and housing spending remain the watchword in Washington, D.C., as senators and congress members struggle with the President’s suggested budget, hold hearings and consider housing reform legislation.

When all of the political smoke clears, where will funding for housing assistance stand? It is still impos-sible to know, but a few trends are emerging.

The 2006 budget President Bush proposed in February eliminated the Community Development Block Grant program, which provides funds for food, shelter and health services programs that serve the nation’s most vulnerable people. This proposal met with strident opposition from citizens and their local governments. (See “County Council” on page 3.)

In late April, the House and Senate narrowly ad-opted a budget resolution conference report which restored CDBG funding. The House approved the measure, which will form the basis for the final federal budget, on a 214-211 vote. The Senate voted 52-47 in favor of adoption. The final budget will likely be approved sometime this fall.

The restoration of CDBG is good news for low-income people, but may ultimately pit housing advo-cates against social service advocates when it comes to carving up what little budget authority remains.

Washington Senator Patty Murray played a promi-nent role in hearings that led up to the conference report. She has been steadfast in her support of low-income housing and spoke out against the budget.

“Looking at this budget it’s hard to reach any other conclusion than that housing is not a priority for this Administration,” she said. “The cuts and problems in this budget will affect the lives of some of our most vulnerable neighbors.”

On the legislative front, identical bills that would make big changes to Section 8 and public housing have been introduced in the House and the Senate.

The bills would transform Section 8 into a block grant program, promising fewer regulations and greater local control, but still cutting funding.

Other proposals would allow for time limits on as-sistance and would change income levels for eligibil-ity so that 90 percent of vouchers in a year would be reserved for families at or below 60 percent of median

Please see “Federal budget” on page 2

“I learned late in life that political advocacy is the name of the game. If you’re not out there your needs won’t be met.” Kirkland Senior Council member John Barnett on why civic involvment is important.

See story on page 3

2 – LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWS JUNE 2005

The Voice

The Voice, the newspaper of Neighborhood House, is published monthly with the support of the Seattle and King County Housing Authorities. Neighborhood House helps diverse communi-ties of people with limited resources attain their goals for self-sufficiency, financial indepen-dence and community building. The Voice contributes to that mission by providing low-income people, immigrants, refugees and other concerned parties with timely, relevant news. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, Neighborhood House, SHA or KCHA. We welcome articles and tips from the community and reserve the right to edit all submissions.

EditorStacy Schwandt

(206) 461-8430 ext. 227 stacys@nhwa.org

ReportersLora CropperAlyssa Martin

THE VOICE

One to grow onGarden tips for community gardeners

BY ANZA MUENCHOW

Special to the Voice

Who would have thought we’d have so much rain in April and May? After the mild winter and wet, wet spring, we are having a bumper crop of slugs!

They really go for small seedlings, espe-cially cilantro, lettuce and the brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, turnips and mustard. I have had to replant some of these crops three times now, but I am trying new ways to get rid of the slugs and snails.

I’ve tried hand picking the little critters off my plants in the early evening and maybe again in the morning if I have time. I’ve already removed a couple pounds of slugs from my farm this way.

I never use the attractive slug baits like Deadline because they are so toxic to other animals. I’ve known several dogs that have almost died from eating the stuff. The other snail and slug predators go for it and die also.

I have used the non-toxic, iron phosphate slug bait Sluggo. It doesn’t really attract the pests, but if they do come across it around the base of your plants and eat it, they’ll die. The problem is it may also be killing my favorite slug predator, the ground beetle.

So instead I tried preparing covered plastic containers filled with beer. I made these from cottage cheese-sized containers and cut three little windows in the sides. I left the lids on to keep the rain out.

The slugs enter through the windows where they drink the beer, get drunk and end up falling in and drowning. I have to dump them out about every three days and re-fill. I’ve killed hundreds of slugs this spring with these traps, and I’ve seen no ground beetles in them.

I’ve also removed all the nooks under which slugs like to hide, including wood, rocks and cardboard. On the flipside, I’ve taken advantage of knowing where they hide, leaving out some cardboard and then

picking off the slugs during the day.Generally, I’ve planted more seedlings

than I need so that I can share them with these sluggy pests.

I imagine you are enjoying your first harvest of peas now. Do you ever stir fry the peas, or do you just eat them fresh off the vine? Well, the tender vines will not last long in the warm weather of July, so you will soon have room to plant more of your favorite summer veggies.

I particularly like to plant a trailing squash, like the tromboncino (aka zuc-chetta) which enjoys climbing the same pea trellis after the peas are gone.

I will plant the tromboncino or a delicata (or another trailing, not-too-heavy squash) at the beginning of June right next to where the peas are growing. A couple weeks later as the peas are dying, I will encourage the squash vine to climb along the trellis.

I love saving the time and energy of trel-lising and maximizing the use of space in the garden. By the end of August I will be ready to harvest delicious squash.

Speaking of trellising, you may want to try planting pole beans instead of bush beans this year. You will have so many more beans if you grow them up a tipi fashioned set of poles. They will usually keep producing for four to six weeks.

That is a lot of picking, but you can eat them in so many ways. I like to roast the green beans for 10 minutes at 475 degrees with a light coating of olive oil and a touch of salt. Keep them in a single layer on your tray and maybe stir them once.

I roast a lot of vegetables like this in the summer. It is so fast and simply delicious. It seems to bring out the flavor of fresh home grown produce.

Enjoy your gardening and e-mail me if you have special questions.

Anza Muenchow is an avid gardener and a volunteer with the P-Patch pro-gram. You can reach her by e-mail at mahafarm@speakeasy.net

Watch out for pesky slugs

waving thier flags and enjoying the atten-tion from photographers and onlookers.

Behind these youthful marchers were veterans and refugees from an older gen-eration, carrying heavier hearts and sharp opinions about the communist politics in their home country.

The harshest feelings were voiced by a group of mostly prisoners of war, who dressed in their old military uniforms and gathered across the street in order to dis-tinguish their voices as more solemn and serious than the others.

Lynda Bui, a 20-something student liv-ing with her parents in West Seattle, said she grew tired of hearing endless political debates while growing up and doesn’t con-sider herself a very political person.

She said she attended the march “to show respect for all that my parents went through, the sacrifices they made.”

While reflecting on 30 years of living in the United States, many Vietnamese marchers expressed their gratefulness for

MarchContinued from front page

living in Seattle and only humbly acknowl-edged the tremendous success they’ve brought to the region.

In the event’s keynote address, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels remembered a year when every public high school in the city graduated a Valedictorian born to Viet-namese parents.

He said that Vietnamese immigrants and their families are fully embracing the American dream and continue to infuse the Northwest with a commitment to hard work, education and service.

After coming to the United States after the fall of Saigon as a young boy with his parents, Thanh Tran learned English and eventually graduated from Chief Sealth High School.

“(My parents) encouraged me to study hard, but when I couldn’t afford college courses after high school I joined the Navy,” he said.

He returned to Seattle to raise his family, and he is determined to take advantage of the benefits of living in a peaceful democ-racy. Here, he said, his son Truc will have access to a good education and “the oppor-tunity to make something of himself.”

for purposes such as buying a home. IDA programs are only available for a

limited time and the cash downpayment re-quirements currently in place for the City’s Homebuyer Assistance Program are too difficult for many participants to achieve within the program’s time period.

The current requirement is $2,500 or 2 percent of the purchase price of the home, whichever is higher. The policy change will allow more IDA program participants to use the Homebuyer Assistance funds.

“Easing our Homebuyer Assistance Program requirements gives many people a chance to have a home they can call their own,” said Rasmussen. “(This step) speaks loud and clear that we’ve made increasing home ownership a priority in Seattle.”

Home ownersContinued from front page

Market days are here

BY VOICE STAFF

The emerald green of crisp lettuce, the deep red of tomatoes and other shades of fresh produce can be found all summer long at weekly neighborhood farmers markets.

Thanks to consumer demand, many markets will remain open longer this year. Local farmers are growing more varieties to extend their seasons, and many markets feature farm foods available year-round, such as organic eggs and meats, preserves, baked goods, honey and cheeses.

Markets typically operate one day a week and feature between 20 to 40 ven-dors. Vendors and farmers offer customers a variety of fresh foods, including Puget Sound produce, Eastern Washington fruit, local berries, organic produce, farmstead cheeses, pasture raised beef, free-range chicken, fish, eggs and honey.

Most of the markets are run by nonprofit organizations, and in 2004 an estimated 260,000 shoppers visited them to shop.

“Fresh food shoppers just can’t get enough of the farmers market experience,” said Chris Curtis, director of the Neighbor-hood Farmers Market Alliance, which runs a handful of the local markets.

Low-income people can also do their grocery shopping at the markets, which are authorized to accept electronic food stamps and WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutri-tion Program coupons.

After the markets close, many farmers donate leftover produce to the neighbor-hood food banks. According to the Neigh-borhood Farmers Market Alliance, last year farmers collectively donated more than 39,000 pounds of food to the food banks.

Consider taking a trip to the farmers market today.

For a listing of farmers markets in King County, call (206) 296-7824 or visit http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/farms/index.htm. For Seattle markets, call (206) 632-5234 or visit http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org.

PHOTO BY STACY SCHWANDT

Plenty of produce is available on the first day of the Columbia City Farmers Market.

income and 10 percent could go to families at or below 80 percent of median income. Under current law, 75 percent are reserved for families earning no more than 30 per-cent of median income and 25 percent for families earning up to 80 percent.

The section of the bill on public housing would also allow for “rent flexibility and simplification” in public housing rents. Rents could be calculated in different ways, including as flat rents.

The “Moving to Work” portion of the bill would create a permanent MTW pro-gram. Both King County and Seattle hous-ing authorities are already MTW agencies, which means they have more flexibility in administering programs than they would otherwise. Seattle’s MTW status will ex-

Federal budgetContinued from front page

pire next year, unless it is extended or leg-islation such as this proposal is enacted.

National public housing associations applauded the recommendations to expand MTW and simplify laws governing rent calculations. Still, they criticized the bill for not addressing funding for Section 8, which has already been cut.

“Housing authorities (have been) forced to make retroactive budget cuts, to lower rent payments and terminate or rescind vouchers,” the organizations said in a statment. “Wary landlords have left the program, waiting lists have been frozen.”

Wrangling over this proposed legisla-tion will likely continue well into the fall. The prospect of continued funding cuts remains likely, and King County’s local housing authorities will continue to struggle to provide assistance with inad-equate resources.

JUNE 2005 LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWS – 3

Community notes

THE VOICE

Ten students graduate from child care training

PHOTO BY MICHAEL SKINNER

A happy class graduates from child care training.

BY MIKE SKINNER Special to the Voice

Ten excited women graduated from a day care providers’ training program in the Rainier Vista neigh-borhood last month.

“I love to work with children,” said student Samira Ahmed, as she celebrated her accomplishments.

The child care training is a long-standing collaboration between Refugee Women’s Alliance and Child Care Resources.

As part of the program, students attended over 150 hours of early childhood training and spent 100 hours interning at local child care centers. A WorkFirst Instructor gave 16 hours of training in job search, resume writing and interviewing skills.

“We have been coordinating commu-nity-based child care training (together) for almost eight years now, and women have been very successful with finding jobs and operating family child cares in their homes,” said Faye Melton, special projects coordinator for Child Care Re-sources. “This success is a true testament to the pre-enrollment screening, the inten-sive training and the ongoing support the women receive after graduation.”

The training program is one of several WorkFirst job training classes offered by ReWA which provide vocational ESL train-ing. Students are required to have reached ESL Level Two prior to enrollment, but all are encouraged to build English skills by taking additional classes at ReWA.

All of the women graduating from the program said they plan to find jobs in child care centers or in family child care programs. Several said they hope to open child care businesses in their homes.

Over the past eight years, more than 50 graduates of the child care training class have successfully gone on to oper-ate licensed family child care businesses, Melton said. This has increased the supply of culturally-specific child care services available in the community.

In addition to the child care training, the nonprofit program JumpStart offers business training and loans to refugees and asylees in the program.

“JumpStart is perfect for people who want to run a small business out of their homes, such as sewing and tailoring bus-inesses, hair cutting or weaving businesses and child care businesses,” said Greg Hope, director of the program.

For more information about the child care training classes, contact Melton at (206) 329-1011 ext. 213 or Maggie Sung at ReWA at (206) 721-0243 ext. 249.

Those interested in learning more about home-based business opportunities should call Jenelle Landgraf, JumpStart Program Coordinator, at (206) 323-3152 ext. 104.

Mike Skinner is a JumpStart VISTA pro-gram developer working with the Refugee Resettlement Office.

Make good government happenGood government needs the vigi-

lance and dedication of its citizens. This summer you can play a major

role in building good government by helping the Municipal League of King County rate candidates for office.

For the past 95 years, League vol-unteers have rated candidates using four criteria: involvement, character, effectiveness and knowledge.

In contrast to other organizations, which rate or endorse based on political party, platform or position on issues, the League’s ratings are solely meant to determine fitness for office. We neither endorse nor compare candidates.

This year, five committees will evalu-ate candidates from throughout King County. Our five committees meet in Seattle, South King County and East King County.

Everyone is encouraged to apply. High-quality and unbiased ratings depend on having people with diverse backgrounds and views participate as volunteers.

Call the Municipal League offices at (206) 622-8333 or visit our Web site at http://www.munileague.org for an application or for more information.

Candidate interviews will be held from July 25 to August 12. Applications are due by July 15.

East African group focuses on helping youthBY VOICE STAFF

About a dozen East African community members met in late April to discuss the steps they are taking to ensure East African youth are successful in school and in the greater Seattle community.

“They are lost, but they do not have to be lost,” said Maikele Mengesha, a member of the East African Youth Advocacy Group, which organized the event. “What we want to do is to find the names of these kids and grab them. Find speakers who can motivate them, give them some hope.”

Senait Ogbe Habte of the University of Washington’s Office of Minority Affairs spoke to those gathered about college en-trance requirements and the importance of parent involvement in education.

An Eritrean immigrant herself, Habte said East Africans face steep challenges as they adjust to their new culture. Often, parents who do not speak English lose au-thority over their children, who are asked to serve as translators for their parents, even in matters of discipline.

Many East African parents are too will-ing to leave their children’s education up to the teachers, she said. “In this culture you have to participate because there’s no one there looking out for your student.”

Those gathered also heard about crime prevention efforts in their neighborhoods, including the Seattle Police Department’s East African Communities advisory coun-cil, which allows East Africans to meet

with police department officials to discuss issues of concern. The council will meet next on July 7.

The East African Youth Advocacy Group was formed in 2004 when an Er-itrean parent approached the Nonprofit Assistance Center with concerns that East African youth weren’t succeeding in school and in life. He wanted to organize a group to address these needs. The group now includes individuals from Somali, Eritrean, Oromo, Tigrean and other East African ethnicities.

In December, the group won a neigh-borhood matching grant from the City of Seattle to continue its work. Members plan to develop a speakers bureau of adults and youth. Speakers will present to school officials, police officers and others on the special experience of East African youth, promoting cross-cultural understanding and appreciation.

The group also plans to organize a job fair where East African adults will meet with youth to explain their jobs and act as positive role models. The group will also create a video documenting their work, providing valuable resources to others.

For more information on the group, con-tact Rosie O’Brien-Ochs at (206) 324-5850 or by e-mail at robrienochs@nacseattle.org. For more information on the po-lice advisory council, contact Mark Howard at (206) 684-7727 or by e-mail at EastAfr icanliaison@seat tle.gov.

Workshop addresses civicsBY VOICE STAFF

About 130 low-income seniors gathered at the Yesler Community Center in late April for a conference on how public policy and civic engagement can change lives.

Seattle Housing Authority residents from Rainier Vista, Beacon Tower, Olym-pia Place, Yesler Terrace, and others joined King County seniors to discuss issues rang-ing from Medicare to registering to vote.

The workshop was organized by the Healthy Aging Partnership, a coalition of 40 government and nonprofit agencies ded-icated to improving the lives of seniors.

Speakers encouraged those gathered to take a position on issues that matter to them, writing letters to the editor of their local newspapers or inviting legislators to coffee to share their point of view.

John Barnett, a member of the Kirkland Senior Council, explained in his presenta-tion that he had never talked face-to-face with an elected official until he was 70.

“Those in the back who maybe were born in other countries, it may be helpful for them to know that they can still have the chance,” he said. “I learned late in life that political advocacy is the name of the game. If you’re not out there, your needs won’t be met.”

The workshop was geared toward low-income individuals over 60. The idea was to empower them to take an active role in civic life.

“One of the goals of the Healthy Ag-ing Partnership was to get more seniors involved in advocacy,” said Jessica Leake, one of the partnership members who orga-nized the event.

The workshop included a keynote pre-sentation by Nancy Amidei, director of the University of Washington’s Civic Engage-ment Project and a discussion of commu-nity engagement in action by Jim Diers, author of a book on building communities in Seattle. King County Executive Ron Sims addressed the group at lunchtime.

The meeting included simultaneous translation in Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Spanish. Immigrants wore headsets to listen to the translation.

Barton Place resident and Chinese im-migrant Yong Hy Uy said she was amazed by the effort.

“I’ve never seen that before, I didn’t think it existed,” she said through a trans-lator. She added that the prevalence of all-English meetings sometimes prevents com-munity members from getting involved.

Rainier Vista Resident Christine An-derson said she’s already deeply involved in her community. However, she said she was pleased when workshop speakers reaffirmed her point of view about the importance of civic engagement.

“In general, it keeps you upbeat and your outlook is better,” she said. “It keeps you up and going.”

County council urges more federal funding for housing KING COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY

The Metropolitan King County Council backs federal funding for housing, eco-nomic development and human services.

Last month, the council passed a motion opposing funding cuts to the Community Development Block Grant, Section 8 Hous-ing Choice Vouchers programs and to local housing authorities.

The motion, sponsored by Council-woman Julia Patterson of SeaTac had bi-partisan support and passed unanimously. The council urged Congress to provide full funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the federal budget for fiscal year 2006.

The Council sent the motion to Wash-ington senators and all the U.S. representa-tives with districts in King County.

“This motion lets our delegation in Washington, D. C. know that the 12th largest county in the country supports full funding for programs that help our most vulnerable,” Patterson said.

The CDBG program has provided King County with more than $24 million annu-ally to provide vital programs and services,

including food, shelter and health services , for the county’s most vulnerable residents. The Section 8 program means affordable housing for more than 15,000 households in King County.

Over the past several years the federal government has been cutting the budgets for both the CDBG and Section 8 pro-grams.

“The elimination of the CDBG program or significant reductions in funding of this program would have dire consequences for the county’s low- and moderate-income residents and for the quality of life for all residents,” the council said in the motion.

Regarding possible cuts to Section 8, the motion said, “It is significantly more cost-effective for local, state and federal governments to ensure families and indi-viduals have affordable housing choices and therefore never enter the cycle of homelessness.”

The County Council asked that these programs and local housing authorities receive the funding they need in 2006 and that “unwarranted” cuts to the programs in 2005 be restored.

4 – LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWS JUNE 2005

TRANSLATED ARTICLES FROM THE VOICE

TRANSLATIONSTRANSLATIONSTRANSLATIONS

THE VOICE

Join the Seattle Public Library’s Summer Reading Program

Ku dhiirigeli ubadkaaga inuu akhristo Jiilaalka isagoo is qoraya Maktbadda Seattle barnaamijka akhriska xilliga Jiilaalka(summer) Barnaamijka waa lacag la’aan loogu tala galay caruurta da’da yar.

Buugagta akhriska waxaa laga helayaa goobta dhexe ee barnaamijka, waxaa xitaa ah raaligelin qof kasta oo qoyska ka mid ah.

Qofka Maktabadda wuxuu cawinayaa fududeynta buugagta la akhrisanayo iyo kuwa akhriya ka badan 10 ka sareeya, waxay dooran

karaan buugag ay doonayaan inay guriga u qaataan. Waa;idka xitaa waxaa lahu dhiirigelinayaa inay is qoraan.

Saraakiisha Maktabadda iyo barnaamijka waa muhim, maxaa dhacay baaris waxay sheegaysaa caruurta joojiso wax akhriska Bilaha Jiilaalka wax badan bay kuwa kale dheer yihiin. Si hubaal Ay u noqoto waalidiinta waa inay la xiriiraan Maktabaddlaha Mar kasta waqtiga jiilaalka(summerka) ka qayb galka barnaamijka akhrinta iyo raaligareen kale.

Si aad u hesho war ka badan la xiriirka Jaaliyadda Summerka, Wac ( 206 )386-4636.

HAÕY THAM GIA CUOÄC ÑOÏC SAÙCH MUØA HEØ DO THÖ VIEÄN COÂNG COÄNG SEATTLE COÅ ÑOÄNGHaõy khuyeán khích con em ñoïc saùch trong muøa heø naøy baèng caùch ghi teân vaøo chöông trình Ñoïc Saùch Muøa Heø do Thö Vieän Coâng Coäng Seattle toå chöùc. Chöông trình naøy mieãn phí daønh cho caùc em moïi löùa tuoåi.

Ñoïc saùch laø chuû yeáu trong chöông trình naøy, nhöng cuõng bao goàm caùc cuoäc vui cho moïi ngöôøi trong gia ñình.

Caùc em tham gia chöông trình ñöôïc nhaân vieân thö vieän giuùp ghi nhaän töøng quyeån saùch maø caùc em ñaõ ñoïc xong, em naøo ñoïc heát 10 quyeån saùch trong muøa heø, thì ñöôïc nhaän moät quyeån saùch môùi ñeå mang veà nhaø. Caùc phuï huynh ñöôïc khuyeán khích ñeå ghi danh cho ngay caû caùc em nhoû nhaát vaøo chöông trình naøy- phuï huynh ñoïc saùch cho treû nhoû cuõng ñöôïc keå

vaøo vaø ñöôïc laõnh giaûi thöôûng cuûa muøa heø.

Caùc nhaân vieân thö vieän ñaõ noùi raèng chöông trình (Ñoïc Saùch Muøa Heø) raát quan troïng, vì qua caùc cuoäc nghieân cöùu cho thaáy raèng caùc em maø khoâng ñoïc saùch trong muøa heø, thì caùc em bò tuït haäu khi ñi hoïc laïi vaøo muøa thu.

Ñeå cho caùc gia ñình ñöôïc thu huùt ñeå trôï laïi thö vieän hoaøi hoaøi, thì chöông trình ñoïc saùch muøa heø goàm coù moät soá cuoäc vui, coù chöông trình veà thieân nhieân, muùa roái, trình dieãn nhaïc. Caùc cuoäc sinh hoaït cho treû vò thaønh nieân goàm coù toå chöùc caùc buoåi noùi chuyeän veà vaên thô, chieáu phim.

Ñeå bieát theâm veà vieäc ghi teân tham döï chöông trình ñoïc saùch, hoaëc lòch trình caùc sinh hoaït, cuoäc vui, xin vui loøng lieân laïc thö vieän gaàn nôi quùi vò cö nguï. Ñeå bieát thö vieän naøo gaàn nhaø, xin goïi cho soá ñieän thoaïi (206)386-4636.

In this section

The mission of the Seattle Housing Authority is to enhance the Seattle community by creating and sustaining decent, safe and affordable living environments that foster stability and self-sufficiency for people with low incomes.

COMMUNITY BUILDER HIREDSee page 3

New face on SHA team

June2005SHA NEWSSHA NEWSSHA NEWS

News and information about Seattle’s neighborhoods

SHA News CRAFT SHOW DRAWS ENTHUSIASM

Point of View NEW COMMUNITY BUILDER HIRED

High Point Herald GIRLS NIGHT OUT TOUCHES YOUTH

Rainier Vista News GAMELIN HOUSE LEASING

NewHolly Notes PLANT EXCHANGE GROWS

Yesler Happenings NEW COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Translations

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Changes to rent policy proposed at hearing

PHOTO BY KARI SHERRODD

Residents crowded into the Yesler Community Center to hear about the changes.

BY KARI SHERRODD

Seattle Housing Authority

Seattle Housing Authority officials heard from a crowded room of residents and com-munity members last month about their opinions on proposed changes to the low-income public housing rent policy.

Those gathered weighed in on the pro-posals, which would alter the way rent is calculated for the 89,000 residents of public housing.

“These changes (would) make the policy fairer for residents and SHA,” said Ellen Kissman, the SHA asset management coor-dinator who presented at the hearing. “After monitoring the current policy since it was adopted in 2000, we found that changes were necessary to make it more effective in meeting its goals.”

Instead of the current graduated rent steps, the new policy would encourage em-ployment by depositing a portion of eligible residents’ paid rent into a savings account called a Tenant Trust Account.

Other changes would affect income reporting requirements and mid-year rent increases, Kissman said.

Generally, SHA lowers residents’ rent immediately when they report a decrease in income, but when their income increases, SHA does not raise rent until a tenant’s an-nual review. This means some residents have protected income longer than others, based on when their annual review falls.

SHA proposes to raise rent immediately when residents have an income increase that would result in a rent increase of 10 percent or higher.

If the rent increase is more than 10 percent due to earned income, the tenant would receive a grace period of 90 days before their rent is raised. Tenants who fail to report an income increase within 14 days would forfeit the grace period, and the in-crease would become retroactive to the date the new income was received.

“I hope SHA keeps living expenses in mind when making these policies,” com-munity member Erin Rants said.

Another proposal would tighten the way SHA calculates a resident’s income.

Currently, income such as financial aid designated for general living expenses, in-come earned by members of the household over 18 and foster care income designated for general living expenses are not count-ed towards the 30 percent residents are required to pay for rent. The new policies would count these dollars.

Residents expressed dismay over the proposal to view financial aid as income.

“I hope the proposed changes can be adjusted to encourage people to stay in school,” said Yesler Terrace Resident Kris-tin O’Donnell. “This would help them reach a point to make enough money to eventu-ally support themselves.”

Under the proposal changes, families that are eligible for TANF and have no other income would be required to pay the TANF-level rent, unless they document that they are not eligible. Also, households requesting a decrease in rent because of lost employ-ment would be asked to submit unemploy-ment benefits documentation, which would be used in their new rent calculation.

Residents and community members had mixed opinions about the proposed policies and were given an opportunity to comment in writing or verbally.

“Before we make changes to policies that effect residents, we want to hear from them,” said Andrew Lofton, SHA deputy executive director.

To review the details of the policy visit http://www.seattlehousing.org and click on the box labeled proposed policy changes.

If you have a comment or question about the proposed changes, please e-mail them to liphpolicy@seattlehousing.org or mail them to Seattle Housing Authority, Attn: Cindy Sribhibhadh, P.O. Box 19028, Se-attle, WA 98109.

SHA partnership with police addresses fraudBY LINDA BROSELL

SHA Staff Attorney

The Seattle Housing Authority recently formed a partnership with the Seattle Police Department to more effectively identify and combat fraud involving residents’ housing subsidy.

To carry out its mission of housing low-income people, SHA spends money from state, local and federal programs. Unfortu-nately, there is not enough money to meet all of Seattle’s housing needs.

When some of that money is spent wrongly due to fraud, those who are most in need are not served.

As one step to ensure all available money is spent legally on housing subsidy, SHA’s legal department seeks reimbursements from tenants when SHA has provided them too large of a rent subsidy. The department also pursues commercial renters who fail to pay rent due to SHA.

With the Fraud and Financial Exploita-tion Unit of the police department, SHA will now file criminal charges against housing program participants who enter a program by falsifying information or who fail to an-nounce a change in their monetary circum-stances that would affect their benefits.

The incidence of fraud among SHA ten-ants appears to be very low — less than 1 percent. However, SHA houses over 25,000 people, so 1 percent amounts to about 250 people.

About a half dozen cases have been sent to the fraud unit since early March. The police have agreed to forward each case to the prosecutor’s office for filing.

Most residents are outraged to find out that another program participant or fellow resident has committed fraud. The impact of fraud goes far beyond a reduction of money available — it goes to the heart of housing those most in need of assistance.

Several of the files forwarded to the police were brought to SHA’s attention by other tenants. Others were found by staff while preparing for a tenant’s re-certifica-tion. Fraud has been found in both Section 8 and in Low Income Public Housing.

SHA Property Manager Frankie John-son said that when a tenant fails to report income or uses SHA property for fraudulent purposes it affects the staff and commu-nity negatively. Time and energy are spent evicting the tenant and ending fraudulent activities.

By turning files over to the police for filing with the prosecutor’s office, the legal department will save time and money, leav-ing resources for other matters.

If convicted, a perpetrator may face jail time and a court order requiring them to repay all subsidies paid on their behalf. In many cases, the Seattle Housing Authority will keep 50 percent of the money returned, while the other 50 percent will be returned to the federal government.

The individual convicted of fraud may forever be denied housing assistance from any federally-funded program.

Tenants or Section 8 participants are en-couraged to report any incidents of fraud they are aware of.

As resources for housing assistance get ever more scarce, it is increasingly impor-tant that they be used fairly and lawfully.

Exhibit celebrates Southeast SeattleBY JAMES OWENBY

Seattle Housing Authority

Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood may be known as the center of the universe, but

Southeast Seattle was christened “the cross-roads of the earth” at an event last month marking the opening of a museum exhibit about the neighborhood.

“Southeast Seattle is the most welcom-ing place, and it has always been welcom-ing to immigrants,” said Jim Diers, the au-thor of a book on Seattle neighborhoods. “It was welcoming to Italian immigrants way back when it was called garlic gulch. (It was welcoming to) Japanese Americans, African Americans, Filipino Americans, Chinese Americans, and then increasing to those from Southeast Asia, East Africa, Eastern Europe and Central America. It is the most diverse place anywhere.”

Diers was one of several notables who spoke at History House, a nonprofit art mu-seum in Fremont that celebrates the roots of Seattle’s diverse neighborhoods.

The exhibit, “Neighborhood Focus: Southeast Seattle,” includes the stories and

Please see “History House” on page 2

2 – SHA NEWS JUNE 2005

THE VOICE

History HouseContinued from front page

accomplishments of over 40 organizations and groups within the community.

The Seattle Housing Authority contrib-uted a 15-minute computer slideshow that depicts the history of Rainier Vista and New Holly from their start in the 1940s. It will be on display through the end of July.

The exhibits also includes stories from Mt. Baker, Seward Park, Rainier Valley, Columbia City, Rainier Beach, Pritchard Beach, Beacon Hill, Georgetown, South Park and other neighborhoods.

About 60 people attended the opening, which included American folk classics from piano and guitar duo BlueIze.

King County Council Member Dwight Pelz provided remarks, reminding those gathered that the Southeast Seattle neigh-borhood Columbia City was built and de-signed around trains in the early 1900s.

“I sit on the Sound Transit board and we’re returning to our roots and bringing back the train,” he said referring to the LINK light rail train that will run along

Martin Luther King Jr. Way by 2009.Seattle City Councilmember Richard

Conlin pointed out that Southeast Seattle has some of the most diverse census tracts in the United States.

Others talked about how community members from Southeast Seattle banned together to save parks, reclaim blighted ar-eas, save their schools and start a pioneering recycling program.

History House is open from 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. On Thursday, June 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. the museum will host a senior day with special programming for seniors. In addition, a Family Day will take place on Saturday, July 23 from 2 to 4 p.m. with plenty of fun activities for kids.

History House will have free live music concerts in their sculpture garden each Sun-day from June through September which makes Sunday a great day to visit History House.

History House is located at 790 N. 34th St. in Fremont, just a couple of blocks down the ship canal bridge. To learn more about History House visit its Web site at http://www.historyhouse.org

Craft show draws enthusiasm, many vendorsBY JAMES OWENBY

Seattle Housing Authority

The NewHolly Gathering Hall was a hub of artistic expression last month as residents gathered for the spring Arts and Crafts Fair.

The fair was sponsored by the Seattle Housing Authority’s CARE Committee, a group of SHA em-ployees whose mission is to create a culture which recognizes, appre-ciates and values its workforce by sponsoring employee events and encouraging employee and resi-dent interaction.

The fair featured arts, crafts and food sold by about 20 differ-ent vendors, many of whom were SHA residents and employees.

The CARE Committee spon-sored a similar holiday arts and crafts fair in December.

“The first one didn’t have a lot of vendors,” said Barbara Berg, a

PHOTO BY JAMES OWENBY

Edyth Gandy holds up a piece of her pottery.

risk control coordinator for SHA who is a member of the CARE Committee. “We had a lot more participation this time. We had some talented vendors with high-quality products to sell, that I think are comparable to what you would see at the Pike Place Market.”

Vendors sold a variety of items including pottery, writing, photography, knit items and metal sculpture. Some were selling their wares for the first time.

“I started creating arts and crafts in 1999 by writing, then went onto painting then metal sculpturing and then pottery,” said Edyth Gandy, the friend of a resident and one of the veteran vendors.

For the first time, Jefferson Terrace Resi-dent Greg Way displayed a photo enhance-ment art he calls stereoscopic 3D or visual

3D. To get the full effect of his work, cus-tomers needed to put on 3D glasses.

“This is an opportunity to get some stuff out and show it to people and see what they like and don’t like,” he said. “I’m going to try to display and sell my art (at other fairs) to make back my investment.”

Berg noted that although there were few customers, the vendors maintained their ex-citement.

“One NewHolly resident and vendor was so enthusiastic that she offered to put out flyers for the next event,” she said. “Ven-dors were able to get together and share ideas as well as information about other arts and crafts fairs.”

Berg added that the CARE Committee will likely organize another craft event next spring.

SHA to present annual plan to communityBY ELLEN KISSMAN

Seattle Housing Authority

Residents and community members are invited to attend the 2006 budget and “Moving to New Ways” annual plan public hearing at PorchLight on June 8 at 6 p.m.

This year’s plan lists many actions the Seattle Housing Authority will take to bet-ter serve low-income residents, including finishing the construction of 344 new public housing and workforce rental units in the first phase of High Point and beginning the construction of the second phase of rental housing at Rainier Vista.

If Rainier Vista is selected, SHA will also work with the Salvation Army to design the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center, a $30 million new community center for all of Southeast Seattle.

With nonprofit partners, SHA also ex-pects to complete new housing for seniors and people with disabilities at Rainier Vista and High Point.

The agency will sell up to 125 Scattered-site units and replace them with 125 units in more accessible locations.

SHA will begin a five-year program to renovate 22 public housing high-rises and will consider designating a second public housing high-rise a smoke-free community. Tri-Court is already smoke-free. Residents say they like it, and SHA is able to enforce

the smoking ban.The Housing Authority will study op-

tions for replacing Holly Court with a new, nearby development, evaluate ways to ren-ovate Jefferson Terrace to make it a better place to live and plan for the redevelopment of the former Lake City Village site and the Salvation Army next door.

The plan addresses preparing for cuts in federal funding to public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program in part by implementing changes to the Housing Choice Voucher program to stretch declin-ing funding to serve as many households as possible.

Finally, the plan includes implementation strategies for the public housing rent policy to encourage residents who can work to do so and to require all residents to promptly report changes to their income.

Information about the Housing Author-ity’s 2006 budget will also be available at the hearing.

If you have any questions about the hearing or the annual plan, contact Ellen Kissman at (206) 615-3560 or by e-mail at ekissman@seattlehousing.org.

If you need any special accommodations or translation assistance, please contact Kissman by June 2.

PorchLight is located in Ballard at 907 N.W. Ballard Way, Suite 200. For directions visit http://www.seattlehousing.org.

Dolores Sweeten, dedicated volunteer and friendLong-time Holly Park resident passes away

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNIE EDWARDS

Dolores Sweeten sits at the receptionist desk at Neighborhood House, where she spent many rewarding afternoons.

BY ANNIE EDWARDS

Special to the Voice

Dolores Sweeten, a long-time resident of old Holly Park and a friend to many, died on April 15.

She was 75. Sweeten was active in

her community working to prevent crime and serving as the neighborhood Block Watch captain.

She also volunteered in Holly Park as a recep-tionist for Neighborhood House for 10 years.

She then took over the responsibility of distrib-uting The Voice until her HOPE VI relocation.

Sweeten was an honest and trustworthy person. She went above and beyond her duties as receptionist. She didn’t want to miss a day coming to Neighborhood House. Now, that’s true dedication.

Volunteering was a joy for her. She loved Neighborhood House and the staff.

Sweeten was instrumental in obtaining a van for the seniors through the Seattle First National Bank. She met with the manager

of the bank and other key people to make this happen. Dolores was always thinking of the seniors.

She also contacted the Shriners every year to get tickets to the circus for the ser-niors. Dolores kept in touch after she relo-cated. She will be missed.

Annie Edwards is a family support work-er for Neighborhood House.

Scattered-site resident joins advisory committeeSEATTLE HOUSING AUTHORITY

Deloris Scott, a resident in Seattle Hous-ing Authority’s Scattered-site program has joined the Joint Policy Advisory Commit-tee, the body that provides input to Seattle Housing Authority officials on proposed policies.

Scott was a resident of the High Point community for 16 years before moving to a Scattered-site home in the West Seattle area four years ago.

As a committee member she will be attending quarterly meetings and provid-ing input to SHA staff on proposed policy changes that will affect public housing

residents. In 2003, the JPAC reviewed and com-

mented on policies that had to do with pets, rent, smoke detectors, fraud and the Community Service and Self-Sufficiency requirement.

If you are a Scattered-site program resi-dent and have questions or comments about policy issues affecting your housing, you can contact Scott at (206) 935-3988 or by e-mail at deedee1003@yahoo.com.

If you have maintenance or other man-agement concerns, you should continue to call the Scattered-sites program office at (206) 770-6789.

POINT OF VIEWPOINT OF VIEWPOINT OF VIEWJUNE 2005 SHA NEWS – 3

NEWS ABOUT THE SEATTLE SENIOR HOUSING PROGRAM AND SEATTLE’S HIGH-RISE COMMUNITIES

THE VOICE

Community notes

New community builder joins Housing Authority

PHOTO COURTESY OF SEATTLE HOUSING AUTHORITY

Brett Houghton (right) plans a celebration for Bell Tower with resident Marcia Wood.

BY BRETT HOUGHTON

Community Builder

My first few weeks at the Seattle Hous-ing Authority have been a whirlwind of new faces, new groups, new communities and new goals.

I have met dozens of resident leaders, been to many of the low-income public housing high-rise buildings, and I can now recognize many of my co-workers.

Joining SHA as a community builder in the high-rise and senior housing com-munities is a remarkable opportunity for me to continue working with populations I enjoy.

I am humbled to support leaders with such long-standing involvement in their communities. I am also excited to work with new leaders as they find ways to use their voices and gifts to build cooperation and teamwork and make change in their communities.

For the past three and a half years I have been community building in the form of organizing low- to moderate-income people around social, racial and economic justice

issues. I did that work in Washington with Washington Citizen Action and around the Northwest with the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations.

I spent a lot of my time with those or-ganizations facilitating leadership oppor-tunities, providing training for leaders and planning events. Those activities built up the capacity of diverse groups to increase civic engagement among disenfranchised communities and to fight for equal access to affordable and quality health care for all.

I spent the two years before that as the program director of the Youth Volunteer Corps of King County. At that job, I had the chance to provide opportunities for youth to become more involved through civic en-gagement projects and volunteerism.

Everyone at SHA has made me feel very welcome and has been patient as I learn the ropes – and their names.

I am settled in at the Housing Authority’s central office on Sixth Avenue. You can contact me at (206) 615-3596 or by e-mail at bhoughton@seattlehousing.org.

I look forward to getting to know folks across the SHA communities.

Rummage sale a huge success

PHOTO BY MARCIA JOHNSON

Jefferson Terrace resident Janet Caward shares her wares with the local mail carrier. Residents raised over $700 at the rummage sale to support the building’s Fourth of July celebration.

Notes from the Resident Action CouncilBY J M (JIM) BUSH

RAC Secretary

At our late-April meeting, we had the distinct pleasure of welcoming Seattle Housing Authority’s Executive Director Tom Tierney and Andrew Lofton, deputy executive director.

Both gentlemen came to talk to our large group and answer questions on a variety of subjects, including the current discus-sion taking place in the “other” Washington about the proposed federal budget.

As many know, Congress passed the $3.4 trillion budget resolution recently, set-ting the blueprint that will determine how much money will go where. Now the hard work will begin, and it’s important that we all take an active part in those discussions. (See “Steps toward final federal budget taken” on front page.)

Responding to a question about the reno-vation of 22 high-rise buildings, Tierney

said he recognizes the importance of keep-ing residents informed, adding that he has directed his staff to make sure it happens.

He said the agency’s construction “pro-cess” has recently been overhauled, so it should operate more efficiently and be more responsive to residents’ needs.

In response to a question about building and resident security, Tierney said this is a significant issue with many problems still to be addressed. SHA is currently work-ing with the Seattle Police Department to address some of the issues. Tierney added that it is up to residents to ensure individual security is maintained, and he offered some tips on how to do so.

Many more issues were discussed during the meeting, and we have complete details in the meeting minutes. If you’d like a copy, please send a request with your name and e-mail address to jmbsea@aol.com.

Next Month: Results of our June 1 of-ficer and at-large member elections.

Advocates meetThe board of the SSHP Advocates II

meets on the third Wednesday of each month at alternate buildings. These meetings are open to any interested resident. If you wish to attend, please feel free to call for the latest location and time. Call Edie Koch at (206) 217-9451 or Bette Reed at (206) 523-8685.

Gay pride events at Capitol ParkResidents at Capitol Park are or-

ganizing a variety of activities to cele-brate gay pride month.

On Sunday, June 19, the building will have a “Pink” breakfast with pan-cakes in a festively decorated commu-nity room.

During the week of June 19, gay-re-lated movies will be shown in the com-munity room starting at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, June 26 after the GLBTQ parade, residents will host a barbecue at 4 p.m. To cover the costs of food, tickets will be sold.

All Capitol Park residents and their guests are welcome to attend these events. For more information, contact Lynn Sereda at (206) 675-3067.

Volunteer service positions availableBY VOICE STAFF

Some year-long volunteer service posi-tions are available in Seattle Housing Au-thority high-rise and senior communities next year.

Residents are encouraged to apply.“It’s a great opportunity for residents to

get work experience and serve low-income people in community building activities,” said Community Builder Marcia Johnson.

The positions are full-time AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA positions, part of a federally-funded program that gives in-dividuals of all ages the chance to address pressing problems facing our country.

In return for providing a year of service, members receive a monthly living allow-ance, training opportunities and an educa-tional award to help finance college educa-tion or vocational training, or to pay back student loans.

SHA will be hiring an AmeriCorps VIS-TA community builder to work in both the senior buildings and the high-rises. This person will help community members build social networks and community partner-ships and provide education on poverty and institutional racism issues.

Partners in Caring, a Fremont Public Association program, will also be hiring a community builder to create community

resource centers in three SHA buildings. The community builder will work directly with residents to ensure the centers meet their interests and needs.

Jefferson Terrace Resident Patricia Ann worked as a VISTA volunteer this year for the Seattle/King County Coalition for Re-sponsible Lending.

“(The VISTA program) does a lot of education on anti-racist perspectives that’s very important for people doing anti-pov-erty work,” she said.

Ann pointed out that all residents consid-ering applying for an AmeriCorps position should research how the program’s stipend will affect their Social Security or disability benefits. Ann was able to ensure her stipend did not affect her benefits.

She also pointed out that FPA sponsors other positions in areas such as domestic and youth violence prevention and elementary school literacy. Furthermore, they organize the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, where adults age 55 and over spend from 4 to 40 hours a week providing food for the homeless and hungry, helping law enforce-ment make communities safer or teaching children to read.

For more information on the volunteer positions available, go to http://www.fre-montpublic.org/vols/volunteerism.html.

NEWS ABOUT THE HIGH POINT COMMUNITY

4 – SHA NEWS JUNE 2005

Community notes

HIGH POINT HERALDHIGH POINT HERALDHIGH POINT HERALD

THE VOICE

Council elections taking placeThe High Point Community Council

is seeking nominations for new board members for a two-year term begin-ning in July 2005.

All offices are open: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and three at-large members.

For more information, please call the council office at (206) 938-4667.

Community Council meetingThe High Point Community Council

meets at 6 p.m. on the second Monday of every month at Holly Hall.

This month, the meeting will be held on June 13 and will include the nomi-nation and election of new board mem-bers.

For more information, please call the council office at (206) 938-4667.

Hooray for WashingtonJoin popular children’s musician

Nancy Stewart at the High Point library

for this fun and educational concert all about the plants and animals that make Washington State great.

You’ll meet Sadie the Slug, see a “live” map of the state and visit a tide pool. This program is appropriate for all ages.

The event takes place on Wednes-day, June 29 at 11 a.m. The High Point branch of the Seattle Public Library is located at 3411 S.W. Raymond St.

Voice mail availableHigh Point residents, if you do not

have a phone you can still have a phone number.

Laser voice mail is your way of keep-ing in contact with family, friends and employers. Call the High Point Commu-nity Council to set up your Laser voice mail system. You can check your mes-sages any time of day or hour.

Call today at (206) 938-4667 to set up an appointment to come to the High Point Community Council office.

Residents can weigh in on diversity festival dollarsEvent postponed for a year

Residents move into new units this monthFirst step of the redevelopment celebrated

BY STACY SCHWANDT

Voice editor

Along with the entire community, the annual High Point Diversity Festival will experience change this summer.

The event will be postponed for a year, and past organizers are seeking input from community members about what to do with the small amount of money set aside for the festival.

“The community is going to be in such a state of here and there, it might be better to wait until next year,” said Seattle Hous-ing Authority Community Builder Kari-lynn Frank, who served as co-chair of last year’s festival.

The Housing Authority is in the process of rebuilding the homes at High Point, and many residents have been temporarily re-located.

The Diversity Festival, organized by a broad group of community volunteers, has taken place annually for about 10 years. The fair usually showcases numerous cultures through food, music, arts, crafts, sports and fashion.

Bonita Blake, president of the High Point Community Council and co-chair of the 2004 event, announced in late January

that the council would not help organize the festival, citing conflicts between the mem-bers and some Housing Authority staff.

Now, members of the council are invit-ing community members to weigh in on what to do with the $1,500 left over from last year’s event.

One idea is to put it towards the com-munity’s Crime Night Out event, which will take place in early August. The money could pay for the rental of a stage, tent, sound system or barbecues.

“It’s not a large sum of money, but it would make the event easier to put on,” Frank said.

Other ideas include saving the funds for next year’s festival or inviting residents to apply for the funding for other community events.

The final decision will be made by the 2004 organizing committee early this month, Frank said.

Letters about the decision will be sent to the companies that donated the money, including Bank of America, Washington Mutual and Robison Construction.

Comments on the issue can be shared with the High Point Community Council at (206) 938-4667 or Frank at (206) 937-3292 ext. 12.

The long-awaited redeveloped High Point apartments will be ready for tenants this month.

BY KARI SHERRODD

Seattle Housing Authority

The first 46 apartments in the redeveloped High Point com-munity are nearly finished, and residents will begin moving in to their new units this month.

“Some two- and three-bed-room units in this first offering are still available,” said DeVonn Chambliss, a Seattle Housing Authority property manager. “The units are attractive to resi-dents since they have modern appliances like washers, dryers and dishwashers.”

Chambliss added that the new apartments are close to parks, shop-ping areas, a public library and healthcare facilities.

They also boast state-of-the-art environ-mental features, including cost-saving, gas-operated hydronic heating systems, which have an on-demand hot water supply.

Also contributing to the apartments’ en-vironmental allure are quiet whole-house fans with two-speed timing switches that remove moisture, airtight drywall to re-duce moisture penetration and inhibit mold growth, energy efficient windows that also block UV rays and vinyl flooring with re-cycled content in baths and kitchens.

“Many residents who were living in the original High Point housing will be mov-ing into these new units,” Chambliss said.

“Some of these units serve as replacements for the original low-income units that were torn down to make way for the new com-munity.”

Sixteen of these first 46 units are for tax-credit eligible residents, and 30 are designated for public housing. The entire first phase of rentals includes 344 units and is expected to be finished during the first months of 2006.

When fully complete, High Point will be home to about 1,600 households in a variety of rental, homeownership and se-nior units.

If you are interested in renting one of these new units, please call the High Point Property Management Office at 1-866-615-8455.

PHOTO BY KARI SHERRODD

Program serves young girls

PHOTO BY STACY SCHWANDT

Eleven-year-old Rashaila Tackett applies plaster strips to her friend Tamika Riley’s face. The girls are making masks as part of their first Girls Night Out activity.

BY STACY SCHWANDT

Voice editor

Last month, Girls Night Out included a trip to the beauty parlor.

Sort of.The six girls participating in the new

High Point program put on their plastic capes, but instead of getting a haircut, they had their faces covered with strips of plas-ter-coated gauze.

“You can’t move your face for nothing,” said 11-year-old Tamika Riley after her friend Rashalia Tackett popped a hardened plaster mask off her face.

Prior to making the masks, the girls talk-ed with facilitator Melissa Horn about the way a mask can hide a person’s true iden-tity. They also filled out a worksheet about the parts of their personalities they’re proud of, but often go unrecognized by others.

The mask-making was part of an ongoing program sponsored by the High Point Youth Service Providers Coalition for young girls in fifth, sixth and seventh grades.

“We realized there was a gap in service,” said Horn, who is the High Point program coordinator for the West Seattle YMCA.

“We decided we wanted to do some general empowerment activities for the young girls in the community.”

The coalition, which includes represen-tatives from SafeFutures Youth Center, the YMCA, Seattle Neighborhood Group, City of Seattle and other local organiza-tions, started by putting together softball clinics last fall.

Now, Girls Night Out will take place at Holly Hall every Friday at 4 p.m. through August 5. All activities, which include soft-ball contests, hip hop dancing, basketball, cooking lessons and discussions of healthy relationships, are free of charge.

Riley said she was relieved when she heard that the program was taking place.

“I was bored after school, and I want to start sports and get involved,” she said.

This kind of involvement is exactly what program organizers hoped for.

“The girls really seem to enjoy it,” said Kelly McKinney, Crime Prevention Or-ganizer for Seattle Neighborhood Group. “They get some self esteem out of it, and it keeps them out of trouble.”

For more information about the program, contact Horn at (206) 234-8913.

Community notes

NEWS ABOUT THE RAINIER VISTA COMMUNITY

JUNE 2005 SHA NEWS – 5

RAINIER VISTA NEWSRAINIER VISTA NEWSRAINIER VISTA NEWS

THE VOICE

Free summer fun for kidsBY ANNA TUCKER

Special to the Voice

The Rainier Vista Inside-Out Art Pro-gram is pleased to announce their free sum-mer art program.

A registration party will be held on June 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Rainier Vista Community Center.

Children and their parents are encour-aged to attend.

The summer art camp is free for youth aged 5 to 18 and runs daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June 27 to August 19.

Program participants will travel on one field trip each week.

They will visit The Children’s Museum in Seattle to see the new traveling exhibit “Scholastic’s Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm.” There, they will learn from me-teorologists, conduct science experiments and visit with Magic School Bus characters such as Mrs. Frizzle and Lizzy the Lizard.

Additional field trips include visits to the Experience Music Project museum, art mu-seums and galleries, a hike of Tiger Moun-tain and a tour of the murals in Seattle.

A trip to the beach or a pool will follow each field trip.

In the classroom each week, a guest artist

will lead a workshop in their chosen field. Participants will explore jewelry making, airbrushing, pottery, mosaic, yoga, dance and drumming.

The summer will culminate with a gal-lery showing at The Children’s Museum that will exhibit the artwork created by the children during the summer program.

The artwork will remain on exhibit for six weeks following the gallery opening in August.

Since 1990, The Children’s Museum has operated the Inside-Out program in the Rainier Vista community.

Inside-Out gives children a neighbor-hood-based place to have fun creating art while gaining social skills and developing the increased self-discipline and confidence necessary to succeed academically.

The program is operated in part with a grant from the Seattle Housing Authority and other generous sponsors throughout the community.

The Children’s Museum, Seattle brings to life the joy of discovery for children and their families through fun, creative, hands-on explorations of the world around them.

Anna Tucker is the program coordinator for Inside-Out. For more information on the program call (206) 441-1768.

Gamelin House leasing

PHOTO BY JAMES OWENBY

Hieng Daraseng, left, smiles with her interpreter Kesri Keopanya as she tours Gamelin House

BY JAMES OWENBY

Seattle Housing Authority

Apartment leasing in Providence Health System’s four-story Gamelin House is already underway in the Rainier Vista neighborhood.

Prospective tenant Hieng Da-raseng brought Laotian interpreter Kesri Keopanya along for a tour of the building with Housing Director Mary-Anne Grafton last month.

Daraseng looked at several units and said she is eager to apply for one that meets her needs.

“I like this area because it is con-venient for me to go to the super-market. There are a lot of Laotian people around this area for me to communicate with,” she said through her interpreter. “At this age it is very difficult for me to learn another language, and I’m very happy to be living here in the future.”

Grafton has been leasing units at Game-lin House, the large building located at 4500 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, since April. Single seniors 62 and older with annual in-comes less than $27,250 and senior couples with annual incomes less than $31,150 are eligible to lease the 77 units.

“We’ve done a bunch of tours and a num-ber of people have reserved units,” Grafton said. “This is typical (non-assisted living) housing, and we want people to stay in their housing as long as possible.”

The four-story secure building has many amenities including an elevator, community room with large outdoor terrace, computer lab, regularly scheduled social activities, on-site laundry, inside mail boxes and ac-cess to a neighborhood P-Patch.

The building is non-smoking and one small pet is allowed with a deposit. Apart-ments are approximately 515 square feet with ample closet space and full kitchens.

Four of the units are accessible for those with disabilities, and there is some park-ing available for tenants without disability parking tags.

Gamelin House is a federally-subsidized building where tenants pay an adjusted 30 percent of their income towards rent. The building is owned by Seattle Housing Au-thority and Providence Health System.

Providence Health System owns the top three floors, and SHA owns the ground floor.

SHA rents part of the ground floor space to Providence ElderPlace, an arm of Providence Health System that provides various health care services to low-income seniors.

Other ground floor space is still available for lease, and SHA officials say they hope to rent it to a business such as a restaurant or a convenience store that can serve the greater Rainier Vista neighborhood.

For more information about Gamelin House call (206) 464-3030 or visit the organization’s Web site at http://www.providence.org/Long_Term_Care/Housing/e05Gamelin.htm where you can download an application.

Child care provider seen as a community resource

BY VAN VO AND LARRY HILL

Seattle Housing Authority

Pheap Sok came to New York City in 1984, her first home in the United States. She came as a refugee from the Khaodidang refugee camp in Thailand where she had lived for three years after fleeing across the border of her native Cambodia.

After living for a short time in New York, Sok moved to Providence, Rhode Island where she worked for three years at a specialty company that manufactured metal earrings. Next, Sok moved with her family to Boston where she worked for years as a machine operator.

In 1993, Sok moved permanently to Seattle. In 1995, she made her way to Rainier Vista where she has since become a well-respected and beloved member of the community. In 1998, Sok began tak-ing intensive training to become a licensed child care provider. This was a long-held goal of Sok’s.

Her youngest daughter was then about six, and as a devoted and highly-success-ful single parent, Sok wanted a full-time job where she could be around her home to provide the quality attention and time that her kids needed.

Van Vo from The Job Connection, then Jobs-Plus, and Sambath Soung from the Refugee Women’s Alliance encouraged Sok in her pursuit, and she soon completed her certification process and received a license to provide child care to the community.

Sok’s business, which she named Pheap’s Day Care, has become a truly in-dispensable asset to some of the working parents at Rainier Vista and in the surround-ing community.

In fact, her business has sometimes made the difference for those who are considering work but for whom the nearness and quality of child care are major issues.

Sok has long been a volunteer at com-munity and cultural events in Rainier Vista, and her engaging smile and warm laugh has made all of us happier people.

Sok earnestly hopes to be able to con-tinue to provide her valuable service to this community after redevelopment, as do the kids in her charge and their parents.

“I so hope to stay here in Rainier Vista,” she said. “My kids are growing up here and I like to help the community here. I like the neighborhood, and I am used to all the people here.”

For more information or to contact Pheap’s Day Care, call (206) 723-2408.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PHEAP SOK

Pheap Sok (center) celebrates a birthday with the members of her child care.

Computer parts giveawayThe Rainier Vista Technology Center

will be hosting a computer parts give-away on Saturday, June 11 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Free equipment, memory, monitors, hard drives and keyboards will be avail-able. Nothing is guaranteed, but much is still functional.

The computer lab is located in the old Jobs Resource Center. For more information contact Tsegaye Gebru at (206) 725-8897.

Youth invited to audition for playVisit Hawaii in Southeast Seattle

this summer by auditioning for Ola Na Iwi (The Bones Live).

Learn acting, hula, chant and more. Auditions will be held Saturday, June

11 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Raini-er Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S. Alas-ka. Appointments required. Call (206) 725-7169 for more information.

Every summer, the Rainier Valley Youth Theatre provides professional theater training with a multicultural fo-cus for youth aged 12 to 21.

This summer the focus is on the cul-tures of Hawaii and Samoa. Ola Na Iwi is a funny, mysterious ghost story by acclaimed Hawaiian/Samoan author Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, recipient of the Hawaii Award for Literature.

Hawaiian theater artist John Wat will come to Seattle to direct the produc-tion.

Rehearsals run from June 14 to July 19 with eight days of performance fol-lowing.

6 – SHA NEWS JUNE 2005

NEWS ABOUT THE NEWHOLLY COMMUNITY

Community notes

NEWHOLLY NOTESNEWHOLLY NOTESNEWHOLLY NOTES

THE VOICE

Trail a product of recycled materials, collaboration

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF RCI/HERZOG

The Chief Sealth Trail follows the City Light corridor for 3.6 miles from Beacon Hill to Rainier Valley.

BY YVONNE KRAUS

Special to the Voice

About 15 years ago, a Bea-con Hill resident came up with the idea of creating a pedes-trian and bicycle trail along the City Light power corridor in Southeast Seattle.

This idea was well-received and the trail has been listed in Southeast Seattle neighbor-hood and transportation plans ever since.

Until 2004, City of Seattle officials expected the trail’s design and construction to begin in 2006.

As public awareness of the proposed trail grew, several bicycle and pedestrian orga-nizations became enthusiastic about getting it built, pointing out the current lack of trails be-tween Southeast Seattle neigh-borhoods and King County’s Regional Trial system.

Fortunately, in the spring of 2004, trail plans were accelerated. RCI Herzog, Sound Transit’s contractor for the Rainier Light Rail Project, offered to build the majority of the trail at no cost to the city, if officials would agree to the placement of a large amount of cleaned, excavated soil and con-crete in the City Light corridor.

RCI Herzog would pay for the costs of building this trail with the dollars they would save by not having to truck or dis-pose of the soils they moved during the light rail construction.

Their idea, with the support of Mayor Greg Nickels and in collaboration with City Light, Sound Transit and Seattle Depart-ment of Transportation, sent this amenity several years ahead of schedule and at con-siderable cost savings to tax-payers.

Although there are no exact cost esti-mates, Department of Transportation of-ficials projected that the original plans for trail construction would have cost between $6 and $10 million. As a result of inno-vative thinking, agency collaboration and material recycling, officials now estimate total cost at approximately $4 million, a substantial saving of tax dollars.

The added bonus is that the trail is being built with almost entirely recycled materi-

als, both soil and crushed concrete, which further reduces overall cost and environ-mental impacts.

The non-motorized, multi-purpose trail will run along the City Light right of way for 3.6 miles, connecting Beacon Hill to the Rainier Valley.

Construction is anticipated to be finished in late 2006. Favorable spring weather and soil conditions have pushed construction ahead of schedule along 60 percent of its length. However, trail progress is closely tied to Sound Transit’s progress on Link Light Rail. If work slows there, trail con-struction will be delayed.

During the summer months, the majority of construction will continue to be place-ment of soil mounds, drainage elements, trail bed and tower base pad installation. By late summer or early fall, SDOT anticipates the asphalt trail surface will be placed in the northern portions of the trail.

To learn more about the Chief Sealth Trail, visit http://www.seattle.gov/trans-portation/chiefsealthtrail.htm. You can also call Project Manager Connie Zimmerman at (206) 684-5184, or Yvonne Kraus at (206) 269-0229, ext. 12.

Yvonne Kraus is community relations coordinator for the Chief Sealth Trail.

Plant exchange grows BY LORA CROPPER

Voice reporter

“Want some free plants?” someone called to me as I approached the New Holly plant ex-change last month.

I looked around to see where this voice was coming from and discov-ered a happy face buried in a sea of plants.

The woman cheerfully welcoming me was Jean, co-host of the NewHol-ly plant exchange. She stood alongside Linda Rasmussen, chief orga-

PHOTO BY LORA CROPPER

NewHolly neighbors enjoyed the plant exchange.

nizer and Master Gardner. For the second year in a row, the women

have organized the plant exchange for the NewHolly community. This year the event had a new face and a new location.

Held within the community instead of at Peace Park, the organizers said they hoped the exchange would attract more people. Although quite a success last year, Jean said many needy plants were looking for wel-coming homes at the end of the event.

As we talked, it became evident that their plan was working. One car pulled up and the driver asked, “What is this, a special garage sale?”

When Jean told him that it was a plant give-away, the driver asked if she was kidding. Jean insisted he take whatever he wanted. He hesitated, as most visitors did throughout the afternoon, but then he obliged saying, “It’s just like Christmas.”

Not long after, a group of children walked up to the table. They explained that they had already taken some grassy vines for their

mother and, “she liked them so much that she sent us back for more.”

They said they liked the plant exchange because everything was free and the people were nice, with the only downside being the weeding they were sure would follow.

Rasmussen said exchange and involve-ment are among the visions she has for the NewHolly community.

“In a community (that’s) mixed income some don’t have the resources to buy plants,” she said. “The exchange gives them a chance to try gardening.”

One of Jean’s neighbors especially caught the giving mood. He pulled plants up from his garden to share with neighbors, including flowering shrubs nearly four feet tall, a hearty rose bush and many more beautiful plants.

Rasmussen said she looks forward to more community-wide exchanges. As Jean said, this year’s plant exchange was “a 100 percent success.”

But there may still be room to grow.

Water bill issue addressedBY STACY SCHWANDT

Voice editor

NewHolly residents may soon find relief from the customer-service headaches many have experienced when asking questions about their water bills.

Seattle Housing Authority officials are taking steps to end their contract with Minol MTR, the company that bill residents for water use in NewHolly Phase I and II.

For years, residents have reported unusu-ally high water bills to the company, and many have complained of the poor custom-er service they have received in return.

In March, SHA’s contract with Minol for NewHolly Phase II ended. SHA officials declined to renew the contract and instead initiated talks about ending the contract for the development’s first phase early.

“We suggested that this is a good time to end the relationship,” said Andrew Lofton, deputy executive director for the Housing Authority. Lofton with be meeting will Mi-nol representatives this month, when a final decision should be made.

SHA expects to take over water billing once the contracts end. As that happens, Mi-nol will remove its equipment from New Holly. Lofton said he will discuss removal costs with Minol officials this month, argu-ing SHA should not be held responsible.

Residents say they hope to see lower wa-

ter bills once the Housing Authority takes over billing. For years, many have ques-tioned the usage levels reported on their bills and have objected that, for months at a time, the amounts were based on estimates rather than on actual meter readings. A few years ago, faulty meter programming did cause residents to be charged for neighbors’ water use, but SHA officials say there’s no evidence that Minol’s billings have been inaccurate over time.

The NewHolly water bills are also high because of an agreement between the Hous-ing Authority and the City of Seattle which tacks a surcharge onto water rates to pay for improvements the City made to drainage lines during redevelopment.

Lofton said he is working with City of-ficials to determine if those surcharges are an appropriate way to pay off the debt.

Public housing residents in NewHolly began paying their water and sewer bill in 2000, when the redeveloped units opened. The idea, Lofton said, is to encourage con-servation and self-sufficiency by asking residents to pay for the water they use.

As required by federal law, SHA pro-vides residents with a utility allowance in the form of a rent reduction to cover out-of-pocket costs. SHA officials say they are investigating the way they calculate the util-ity allowance, which is uniform for all SHA residents and based on apartment size.

Come join the Family Fun FestThe NewHolly Family Fun Fest will

take place on Saturday, June 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Van Asselt Community Center. The event will in-clude games, stage performances, re-source booths and a barbecue.

Volunteer work parties will take place on Wednesday, June 1 and on Tuesday, June 4 and 21 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Campus Community Living Room.

For more information or to RSVP for a work party, contact Joy Bryngelson at (206) 723-1725.

Party to celebrate NewHolly plannedAll residents are invited to join SHA

staff to celebrate the completion of rental housing on June 21, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the north end of the new park in phase three. That’s on Holly Park Drive, between 39th and 40th streets.

Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims will be at the event, along with some old friends from the early days of the Holly Park redevelop-ment.

Both Doris Koo (formerly of SHA) and Doris Morgan (former Holly Park Com-munity Council President) will be on hand to help dedicate the new apart-ments in this last and final phase.

There will be music, food and bever-ages and special souvenirs for all who attend. Please join us.

JUNE 2005 SHA NEWS – 7

NEWS ABOUT THE YESLER TERRACE COMMUNITY

Community notes

YESLER HAPPENINGSYESLER HAPPENINGSYESLER HAPPENINGS

THE VOICE

Vietnamese Tea timeBring your friends, have fun and en-

joy a cup of tea or coffee and cookies. Join us for Vietnamese Tea Time on the second Thursday of each month from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the Yesler Terrace Community Room.

This is a chance to spend time with your neighbors and discuss whatever topics may be on your mind. Transla-tions are available. For more informa-tion contact Kathy Nguyen at (206) 461-8430 ext. 258.

Youth programs at YeslerThe Seattle Parks and Recreation

department is offering summer day camps for youth aged 6 to 15 at the

Yesler Community Center. Each day is full of fun and surpris-

es. Great activities include art projects, swimming, roller skating, movies, sci-ence projects, group games, reading and performing arts. Middle school-aged kids participate in boating, hik-ing, field trips and environmental work-shops.

Breakfast, lunch and a snack are provided daily to each camper. Ses-sions run from June 27 to September 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $135 per week and scholarships are avail-able.

The community center is located at 917 Yesler Way. For more information call (206) 386-1245.

New Yesler council members elected

Notes from the ManagerBY JUDI CARTER

Community manager

I know there are people in Yesler Terrace who enjoy feeding the birds.

For many years I have asked, reminded and pleaded with residents not to feed them. The picture beside this article illustrates my reasons. When you put bread or rice out for the birds, mice and rats enjoy the meal.

Rodents have been a big problem for Yesler Terrace, because they don’t just live outside. They move in to apartments. The food left outside attracts them to the

PHOTO COURTESY OF JUDI CARTER

Left for the birds, rice goes to the rats.

community. The warmth and food inside your home becomes even more attractive to them once they are here. Again, please do not feed the birds.

Next month, many people will be cel-ebrating the Fourth of July with family gatherings and a day off from work.

Folks will be going to Myrtle Edwards Park to watch the fireworks. Here in Yesler Terrace, we’ll have a block party with neighbors from all over. In the late after-noon, we’ll gather at the intersection of Alder Street and Terry Avenue to listen to music and eat hot dogs and chips.

Seattle Police officers, Crime Prevention Organizer Michael Neguse and I will be on hand to visit. This event will take the place of Crime Night Out this year and should be a lot of fun. I hope to see you there.

And speaking of Independence Day, please do not purchase fireworks of any kind to use within the City of Seattle.

Fireworks not only cause serious burns and start fires, but they are also illegal.

Please, let’s have a quiet, safe Fourth of July this year and leave the fireworks for the professionals at Gasworks or Myrtle Edwards Parks.

Local artist’s work to appear in gallery

PHOTO BY STACY SCHWANDT

Charles Parrish has been sculpting busts of famous people for over 30 years.

BY VOICE STAFF

For over 30 years, Yesler Terrace resident Charles Parrish has been paying homage to his heroes through sculpture.

A wooden table stretches the length of his apartment, stacked with the busts of scores of public figures, including Ken Griffey Sr., Edwin T. Pratt and Desmond Tutu.

They are stone carvings and plaster or bronze casts. Most look straight at their viewer, but each has a spirit of its own.

An exhibit of Parrish’s work will take place in the guest gallery of the Columbia City Gallery, 4864 Rainier Ave. S. from July 13 to September 11.

The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 12 to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“I try to capture the feeling of personal-ity, characteristic and likeness of a person,” Parrish said. “It’s what I see inside that per-son before and as I’m making the piece.”

Parrish, 50, came to Seattle from Virginia about 22 years ago. When he was young he

studied at Holden School of Arts in Char-lottesville, Va. and in 2000 he received a two-year scholarship to Seattle’s Pratt Fine Arts Center.

For Parrish, creating the sculptures is a multi-step process. First, he spends time at the library collecting the photographs and stories of his chosen subjects.

Then he sculpts the subject using the modeling clay Plasticine. From there, he makes a rubber mold in which to pour the plaster. After the bust has set, Parrish paints the plaster to appear like metal or stone.

He said exhibiting his sculptures has been his main motivation over the years.

“I’m hoping I can get them in parks buildings, museums and stuff,” he said. “It’s just my dream to do that.”

Parrish is particularly proud of the two photographs of him and his work that hang permanently in the Yesler Terrace Commu-nity Center, 917 E. Yesler Way.

“Anyone can go in there and take a look at them,” he said.

SEATTLE HOUSING AUTHORITY

Bring your favorite food to share and your family and join in the Juneteenth cel-ebration at Yesler Terrace this month.

Juneteenth marks the day that word of the end of slavery reached African Ameri-cans in the state of Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. At Yesler Terrace it is celebrated with food, awards, music, dancing and fun for all.

This year, budget constraints have led the Seattle Housing Authority to limit the amount of money available for community celebrations. For that reason, it is especially important for everyone to bring a dish of food to pass.

Neighborhood House has agreed to ac-cept cash donations on behalf of Juneteenth in advance of the event.

If you would like to make a donation you can take it over or send it to Neighborhood House at 905 Spruce Street, Seattle, WA, 98104.

Get out your favorite recipe and join us on Friday, June 17 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ida Brown Ball field behind the old Yesler Community Center Gym.

Other help is needed. If you would like to be a part of Juneteenth planning or volun-teer at the event itself, please contact Seattle Housing Authority Community Builder El-len Ziontz at (206) 343-7484.

Junteenth a potluck this year

BY STACY SCHWANDT

Voice editor

After pledging to keep residents’ inter-ests at the forefront of redevelopment dis-cussions, Naomi Finkelstein was elected president of the Yesler Terrace Community Council last month.

She will join Vice President Kristin O’Donnell, Secretary Penny Mills and Treasurer Arthur Rea on the council, which acts as the voice for residents of the Seattle Housing Authority community.

“I (wanted) to talk about building soli-darity with each other, about having each other’s backs,” Finkelstein said before the vote. “I want to be sure that this neighbor-hood is here and doesn’t get redeveloped and we lose housing.”

SHA officials have said that the 60-year-old Yesler Terrace community will need to be redeveloped in the future, but they have said planning won’t begin until later this year or next.

Mills will be the second new face to join the council this year. O’Donnell has served for more than 20 years and Rea has served for five.

“I look forward to helping all of you,” said Mills, who has been a resident of Yesler Terrace for seven years.

The election was overseen by Jose Cer-vantes of the City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods.

The process hit a couple of bumps when Finkelstein noticed ballots had not yet been

translated and when members of the So-mali community walked out, saying they had not received adequate notification of the meeting. The ballots were translated before the vote.

Cervantes applauded the council for its role in the community.

“Here we see some of the challenges of democracy,” he said. “You are indeed the most diverse organization independent from government in the area. I do hope that (you continue with) all the work you’ve done throughout the years.”

In other news, the election followed a heated discussion over whether the council should withdraw its objection to a liquor license request from Gojo grocery store on 12th Avenue and Yesler Way.

Both the council and Bailey Gatzert El-ementary School representatives had filed objections to the license. The City of Seat-tle’s Attorney’s Office worked with school officials to draw up a good neighbor agree-ment that limits store owners to only sell-ing beer and wine during specific hours and places strict limits on the amount of alcohol the beer and wine can contain.

“This good neighbor agreement is spe-cific to the school’s needs, but it doesn’t talk about what Yesler Terrace’s needs are at all,” Finkelstein said.

Still, the group voted to lift their com-plaint after Mills argued that there are other places to buy alcohol in the neighborhood and that Yesler Terrace could use a good grocery store close by.

8 – SHA NEWS JUNE 2005

TRANSLATED ARTICLES FROM THE VOICE

TRANSLATIONSTRANSLATIONSTRANSLATIONS

THE VOICE

Volunteer with the Welcome Wagon program

U soo guurid goob cusub waxay dareemin kartaa qof kasta Jaaliyad uusan aqoon u lahayn, xitaa adeegsashada ood ku noqonayso galti ama qariib.

Neighborhood House muddo dheer waxay caawinaysay guryaha Dadweynaha iyo soo dhoweyn siinaysay Jaaliyadda. Dadka Shaqaalaha wax bay ka qabteen wax yaabahas oo kale. Wuxuu ahaa barnaamid caadi ah Kambaniga in loo dhiso barnaamij marka aad dad iska wax u qabso oo deegaanka ka mid ah iyp shaqaalaha inay soo dhoweeyaan dadka soo guuraya markay imaanayaan.

Sannadkii hore Neighborhood House wuxuu helay$13,ooo Oo deeq ah kana helay City of Seattle qaybta derisyeenta si loogu bilaabo barnaamijka Welcome Wagon.

Dad iskaa wax u qabso ayaa si deg deg ah wax u tusi doonaa iyo wararka ku saabsan. Xafiiska wuxuu noqon doonaa Rainier Vista iyo Jaaliyadda New Holly.

“Annagu xaqiiq waxaan rabnaa dadka inay helaan weji ka weji xiriir ah lana yeesho xiriir hiloowqaba” sidaas waa tiri Kathy Nguyen, Americorps Vista ka tirsan madax u ah dadka iskaa wax u abso ku shaqeeya” la kulanka qoysaska way fiican tahay,waxyaabaha ay u baahan yihiin iyo waxyaabaha kale.

Sannadka xiga dad ka badan 800 qofood ayaa la filayaa inay soo guuraan guryo ay leeyihiin Seattle Housing Authority iyp King County Housing .

Tan wacaysaa deris wanaagsan oo shaqaalaha ah iyo la xiriirka dadweynaha habka suuban.

Si aad iskaa wax u qabso ugu shaqeyso Welcome Wagon wac Kathy Nguyen (206) 461-8430 Ext. 258.

HAÕY TÌNH NGUYEÄN VaøO CHÖÔNG TRÌNH “COÅ XE NGHEÂNH ÑOÙN”-WELCOME WAGON

Doïn nhaø ñeán moät khu môùi coù theå laøm cho baát cöù ai ñeàu caûm thaáy xa laï. Nhöõng khuoân maët khoâng quen bieátï, vieäc noùi chuyeän giao tieáp raát ngöôïng ngaäp vaø ngay caû vieäc ñi mua saém cuõng ít nhieàu laï laãm.

Cô quan Neighborhood House töø laâu ñaõ giuùp cö daân trong khu gia cö coâng coäng coù ñöôïc yù nieäm veà coäng ñoàng (mình doïn ñeán ôû). Caùc nhaân vieân ñaõ ñeán thaêm vieáng nhöõng ngöôøi (môùi doïn ñeán) maø trong vaøi tröôøng hôïp, hoï caàn maø khoâng bieát hoûi thaêm ai.

Moät tieán trieãn töï nhieân, khi maø ñoái vôùi moät cô quan laäp neân chöông trình phuïc vuï goàm coù ngöôøi thieän nguyeän, cö daân vaø caùc nhaân vieân ñeán tieáp ñoùn ngöôøi vöøa môùi doïn ñeán.

Trong naêm qua, cô quan Neighborhood House ñaõ nhaän ñöôïc ngaân khoaûn $13,000 töø thaønh phoá Seattle – Department of Neighborhoods ñeå khôûi xuôùng chöông trình Coå xe Ngheânh Ñoùn.

Saép tôùi ñaây, seõ coù nhöõng ngöôøi

tình nguyeän (khoâng aên löông) seõ mang ñeán taëng caùc gia ñình vöøa môùi doïn nhaø tôùi moät gioû ñaày taëng phaåm vaø nhöõng tôø thoâng tin. Nhöõng (haønh ñoäng ) coá gaéng naøy ñöôïc baét ñaàu ôû coäng ñoàng Rainier Vista vaø New Holly.

“Chuùng toâi muoán baø con ñöôïc gaëp maët ñoái maët, vaø caûm thaáy coù söï noái keát vôùi coäng ñoàng khu xoùm cuûa hoï ngay töø buoåi ñaàu” coâ Kathy Nguyeãn , nhaân vieân tình nguyeän AmeriCorps VISTA, ñaõ noùi nhö theá. Coâ laø ngöôøi ñieàu hôïp chöông trình naøy. “Baèng caùch gaëp gôû caùc gia ñình, nhöõng thieän nguyeän vieân coù theå bieát khaù hôn nhöõng nhu caàu cuûa hoï vaø chæ daãn cho hoï ñeán nhöõng dòch vuï maø hoï caàn.

Trong voøng naêm tôùi, coù tôùi ñoä 800 hoä cö daân seõ doïn voâ caùc khu nhaø do cô quan gia cö Seattle Housing Authority quaûn lyù. Ñieàu naøy noùi leân raèng coù raát nhieàu vieäc caàn phaûi laøm vaø caàn nhieàu ngöôøi coù töø taâm ñeå noái keát töøng ngöôøi theo töøng caù nhaân cuûa hoï.

Ñeå tình nguyeän tham gia vaøo chöông trình Coå xe Ngheânh Ñoùn, xin vui loøng goïi cho coâ Kathy Nguyeãn ôû soá ñieän thoaïi (206) 461-8430, soá chuyeån tieáp laø 258.